Toy



Nov. 10, 1931-. L. MARX 1,830,799

- TOY Filed Jan. 25. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 B UUEIIIEIIEJDUJDIIIDIIHIIDEIDUDDDEI 1 INVENTOR V Louis Marx TORNEYS Nov. 10, 1931. 1.. MARX TOY Filed Jan. 25, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' INVENTOR Louis Marx BY ATTORNEYJ' IBDQCIUCJUUEDUQIIUEJDUEIDUEJD Patented Nov. 10, 1931 om'rse s'r'ras PATENT e s LOUIS MARX, on NEW YORK, my.

TOY

Application filed .Tanuaryf23, 1930. Serial No. 422,717.

This invention relates to toys and more particularly to vehicle toys of the track laying or caterpillar type.

Vehicle toys of the track laying or caterpillar type have recently been developed and have attained considerable popularity largely because of the rugged determined force which these toys seem to possess in climbing obstacles interposed in their path. The object of the present invention generally is to improve suchtoys with a View to making them universally operable regardless of what obstacle is encountered thereby and to enhance the apparently irresistible power of the toy.

When these toys meet a surface too steep to be surmounted they may stall or if powerful enough they may continue to climb and fall over backward. One object of my invention is to so construct such a toy that in the event of its falling over backward for this cause it will nevertheless continue its progress and again attempt to climb the obstruction. This is accomplished, generally speaking, by locating the entire body of the toy within the confines of the caterpillar tread so that the toy may run on any of the treaded sides, that is, onthe top or bottom or ends of the toy.

A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of such a toy in which the body is made symmetrical, there being no distinguishing top or bottom, so that the toy may be operated on either its upper or lower side with no apparent difference. 7

As so far described the toy may operate on any of its peripheral or treaded sides, but is inoperative in the event of its beingturned over or upset on either of its non-treaded sides. This is of importance because if the toy encounters an obstacle with only one of its caterpillar treads the toy may beturned upon 1 its side even though the obstacle would be surmountable by the toy if it had been encountered by both of thecaterpillar treads. A further object of the present invention is to overcome this disadvantage and to devise meansfor righting the toy up onto its tread if it is turned on its side. In a simple form this means may comprise simply suitably rounded projections extending, from each side of the body of the toy which make the toy 11119 stable when resting thereon. 'In this manner when the toy-is tipped over'onto its side it continues to rock until a portion of the moving tread engages the ground, permitting the toy to right itself and continue to operate. Still another object of the present invention is to provide righting or restoring means which will make it impossible'for the toy to happen to balance on its side in such a manner that it will not regain its tread. .To this end restoring means are provided which project fromthe-sides of the body and which are driven by the motor of the toy, the said means being so designed as toright the toy regardless of howithappens to be upset,

Anotherobject of the present invention is to combine the foregoing features relating to the toy being operable on any of its treaded sides and relating to the righting of the toy when upset so as to obtain an apparently irresistible toy which cannot be wholly stopped from operation no matter how placed, upset or obstructed.

To. the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the elements and their relation one to the other as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined-in the claims. The specification is accompanied by drawings in which: 7

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a toy bodying features of my invention;

tank, em-

Fig. 2 is, a plan'view of the samei Fig. 3"'llustrates successive stages in the operationof the toy when encountering a Fig. 4: shows successive stages in the operation of theltoy when it is upset;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of a modification; d v

r Fig. 6 is a plan view ofthe same. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the track layingor caterpillar toy has here been exemplified in the form of a military tank. The tank comprises a body Aa'nd caterpillar treads B. It should first benoted,

as is evident from Fig. 1, that the body Ais located within the confines of the tread B. That is, the tread is outermost on the top as well as the bottom and ends of the vehicle and consequently the tank may run on any of its treaded sides.

The bottom A comprises a pair of side members 12 which are spaced apart in parallel relation by an appropriately stepped and shaped wall 14 extending entirely around and forming the periphery of the body of the tank. The upper side of the wall 14 is stepped at 16 and 18 and is additionally stamped upwardly as at 20 to form an observation turret. The wall 14 is again stepped at 22 to form a gun turret from which there projects a toy gun or cannon 24. At the rear of the tractor ,the wall 14 is bent downwardly at 26 in parallel relation to the slope of the caterpillar tread at this point, and the inclined surface 26 is stamped upwardly as at 28 in simulation of a door or hatch for access to the interior of the tank. It will be noted that the gun 24 and the turrets 20 and 22 as well as the hatch 28 are all located within the confines of the caterpillar tread and that the tank may there- .fgrie be inverted and nevertheless be opera e.

To increase the value of this feature the body of the tank is made symmetrical. More specifically, an examination of Fig. 1 will .show that the portion of the wall 14 forming the lower side of the tank is'shaped and stamped similar to that forming the upper side of the tank, so that the lower side of the tank like the upper side of the tank is provided with an observation turret 20, a gun turret 22 from which projects a gun 24 and a hatch 28. The side members 12 of the body A are preferably shaped to follow closely the configuration of the tread B even though this causes them to project at some points beyond the stepped outline of the peripheral wall 14 of the body. The construction is such that the side walls 12 of the body entirely fill in the area within the tread B when the tank is viewed from the side, and consequently it is impossible to detect the inverted superstructure on the lower side of the tank. Only the very end of the gun 24 is visible at the rear of the tank, andthis closely simulates an engine exhaust pipe.

The tread B preferably takes the form of a pair ofendless rubber belts 30 and 32 each having an inner V-shaped portion 34 and an outer parallelsided portion 36. These belts are mounted on large wheels 88 and 40 and small idler or guide wheels 42 and 44. lVithin the body A there is provided a suitable driving motor, which in this case is spring energized and which is geared to one or both of thepairs of wheels 38 and 40. The motor may be energized by a winding key 60 and may be controlled by a stopping and starting brake 64. The wheels 38 and 40 are similar'in diameter and appearance, the wheels 42 and 44 are similar in diameter and appearance, and these wheels are symmetrically located so as to carry out the previously mentioned illusion of the tank having no distinguishing top or bottom.

The tank may further be provided with side gun turrets consisting of rounded protuberances mounted on the sides of the tank body A and carrying toy guns 52 as additional armament for the tank. These turrets are also preferably symmetrically located on the sides of the tank body.

- The operation of the tank as so far described may be described with reference to Fig. 3 showing successive stages in the progress of the tank when it encounters an upright wall. In Fig. 3A the tank is shown approaching a relatively high obstacle having a vertical wall. When the front end of the tank meets the wall the tank begins to climb upwardly as is indicated in Fig. 313. If the obstacle is low in altitude the tank will succeed in climbing over the same, but if the wall is so high that the tank assumes an up right position, as is indicated in Fig. 3G, the tank falls over backward. Heretofore this marked the end of the'operation of the toy, it being stranded on its back because of the body or gun turrets on the same preventing the tread from reaching the ground. The present toy, however, continues its progress,

as is indicated in Fig. 3D, with no apparent change except to a very attentive observer,

and again attempts to scale the wall. This apparently dogged determination on the part of the toy is very appealing to the user adds greatly to the enjoyment obtained therefrom.

The tank here illustrated is further provided with means generally designated R for righting or restoring the tank on its tread in case it is upset or turned on its side. The particular restoring means in this case are rotatable members projecting from the sides of the tank and preferably driven by the same motor which is used for drivingthe caterpillar treads. The restoring members and the drive for rotating the same may most simply beobtained by extending the winding shaft of the spring motor at each side of the tank and providing the same with enlarged .winding keys each having a rounded external periphery. These keys are so located and so shaped that if the tank is turned on its side it tends to roll back and rest on at least a portion of one of the tread members. These, it may incidentally be pointed out, are preferably made in the form shown so that they projectwell outside of the flanges of membersf6O quickly bringsthe tank into a more favorable position, such that the combined movement of the restoring means and the tread brings the'toy to an upright and operative position.

particular example of this operation is illustrated in successivephases in Fig. 4. Re-

ferring to A of this figure the tank is seen to be approaching an'obstacle in such a manner that only one tread will encounter the obstaclew ile the other tread will remain on the ground. This causes the tank to tip over sideward as is indicated'in plan at B and in front elevation'at C. If the obstacle is sufiiciently steepto' upset the tank onto its side it does not remainstranded in that position but rocks to a position bringing one of the treadmembers in contact with the ground, as is shown in plan at D and in front elevation atE. The movement of the tread causes the ticular case the tank has been restored to an upright position in such a manner that it travelsfaway from the obstacle. However, it should be understood that under other circumstances the tank may be righted in such a manner as to continue in its original direction of motion.

For example, in the problem illustrated in Fig. 3 the tank upon tumbling over backward will ordinarily be slightly changed in direction. After several such attempts it may assume a direction permitting it to travel past the side of the obstacle, or it may encounter the obstacle with only one tread somewhat as is illustrated in Fig. 4;, but in any case its operation is uninterrupted.

In Figs. 5 and 6 there are shown an elevation and plan view respectively of a toy tank which comprises a tank body A and caterpillar treads B similar to those described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2, but in which the righting means R are different. In this case the winding key 62 for the spring motor is relatively small and inconspicuous and does not act as a restoring means for the vehicle. Instead the gun turrets are made larger and are rounded so as to make the equilibrium of the toy very unstable when resting on its side. The toy tends always to rock about either of the turrets until oneof the tread members engages the ground, whereupon the traction of the same tends to right the tank. The mode of action of the restoring means 70 may be understood by reference to Fig. 4 in which it will be obvious that views C and E are applicable to this modification of the toy as well as to that previously described.

The manner of constructing and the mode of operation of the toy tanks embodying my invention will be apparent from the fore goin description thereof. It will be understood that the various features of my invention are applicable to track laying of caterpillar to s other thanmilitarytanks. It will furtlier be understood that the feature of my invention whereby the. toy may run on either' its lower br upper side may be used entirely independently. of the restoring or righting means, and similarly that the latter may be used without the former. However, in combining both a'toy is obtained which is exceedingly rugged and fool-proof and which may be placed in any positionandtumbled around at will, andyet-which will continue always to operate and'always to attempt to meet and surmount any obstructionencountered thereby.

and described my invention in, the preferred forms, many changes and modifications may be made in the structures disclosed Without departing from the spirit of the invention, defined in the following claims. Y i

I claim:

1. A toy comprising a body, anda. caterpillar tread, said body being made symiiietri cal in outline and in ornamentation andbeing located within the confines of the tread so that the toy may run'on either its upper or lower side, there being no distinguishing top or bottom. f I

2. A toy tank comprising a tank body, a caterpillar tread at eachsideiof said' body,

and means in said body for driving said.

treads, said body being made symmetrical in outline and in ornamentation and being lo cated within the confines of the treads so that the tank may run on either itsupper or lower side, top or-bottom.

3. A toy tank comprising a tank body, a caterpillar tread at each side of said body, means in said body for drivingsaid treads, and guns located on the upper and lower sides of said body, said body including'said guns being made symmetrical and located within the confines ofsaid treads whereby said tank may run on either its upperor lower side, there being no distinguishing top or bottom. p v i 4. 'A toy tank comprising a tank-body, a caterpillar tread at each side of said body, means in said body for driving said treads,

and guns located on the upperand lower It will be apparent that While I haveshown there being no distinguishing either its upper or lower side without distinc- V tion as to top and bottom.

5. A toy comprising a body, a caterpillar tread, and means in said body for driving said tread, said body being made symmetrical and located within the confines of said tread whereby said tank may run oneitherits upper or lower side, so that thetoy on meeting an obstacle too steepfor it to surmountwill fall backward and again try to surmount the obstacle, without distinction in as to top andbottom;

'6..A toy tank comprising a tank-body, a caterpillar tread ateach side of said body, means in said body fordriving said treads, and guns located. on the upper and lower sides of the body, said body including said guns being located within the confines of said treads whereby said tank may run on either its upper or lower sides, so that the tank on meeting an obstacle too steep for it to surmountwill fall backward and again try to surmount the obstacle, without distinction inappearance as to top and bottom.

7. A toy tractor vehicle comprising a body, a caterpillar tread therefor, a motor in said body for driving said tread, and rotatable means located at the sides of'the body and driven by said motor for righting the vehicle up onto the tread when the vehicle is turned on its side.

8. A toy tank comprising a tank body, a caterpillar tread on each side of said body, said body being located within the confines of the tread sothat the vehicle may run on its upper or lowersides, a motor in said body for driving said tread, and rotatable means projecting from the sides of said body and driven by said motor for righting said vehicle if it is upset onto its side.

9. A toycomprising a body, a caterpillar appearance tread, a spring actuated motor in said body for drivingsaid tread, and enlarged winding keys at the sides ofsaid body for energizing said motor, said keys being suitably shaped to right the toy should it be upset on its side.

10. A toy tank comprising a tank body, a caterpillar tread at each side of said body, a spring actuated motor in said body for driving said treads, and enlarged winding keys at the sides of said body for energizing said motor, said keys being-suitably shaped todri'ght the tank should it be upset on its s1 e. 1

11. A toy comprising a body, a caterpillar tread, said body being located within the confines of the'tread so that it may run on either its upper or lower sides, a spring actuated motor in said body for driving said tread, and enlarged winding keys at the sides of said body for energizing said motor, said itbe upset on its side, whereby saiditank is universally operable regardless of how-placed and regardless of what obstacle;;is encountered thereby;

13. A toy tank comprising a v,

caterpillar tread, means in' said bodyqfor driving said tread, and a, projection simulating a gun turret extending from each side of said body for a substantial distance beyond the tread, said turrets being rounded from top to bottom; 7

14. A toy tank comprising a tank body, a caterpillar tread on each side thereof,- said body being'locatedwithin the confines of said tread and arranged symmetrically so that there is no distinguishing top or bottom, means in said'body for driving said treads, anda projection simulating a gun turret extending for a substantial distance beyond the tread at each side of said body keys being suitably shaped to right the toy I shouldit'be upset'on its side, whereby said toyis universally operable regardless of how placed andregardless of'what obstacle is encountered thereby.

12. A toy tank comprising a tank body, a caterpillar tread at each side of said body, said body being located within the confines of the treads so that it may run on either its upper or lower side, a spring actuated mo: tor in said body for driving said treads, and enlarged winding keys at the sides of said body for energizing said motor, said keys being suitably shaped to right the tank should 

